Legislature runs past deadline - more to come

SACRAMENTO But lawmakers fail to resolve key water issue

Published 4:00 am, Sunday, September 13, 2009

Photo: Robert Durell, Special To The Chronicle

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A list of the bills that may be considered are ready for distribution to Assemblymembers at a clerk's desk on the floor of the Assembly September 11, 2009 in Sacramento. The state Senate and Assembly are voting on hundreds of bills, trying to beat a midnight end of session deadline. less

A list of the bills that may be considered are ready for distribution to Assemblymembers at a clerk's desk on the floor of the Assembly September 11, 2009 in Sacramento. The state Senate and Assembly are voting ... more

Photo: Robert Durell, Special To The Chronicle

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Speaker of the Assembly Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles), on the floor of the Assembly as the state Senate and Assembly vote on hundreds of bills, trying to beat a midnight end of session deadline, September 11, 2009 in Sacramento, California. less

Speaker of the Assembly Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles), on the floor of the Assembly as the state Senate and Assembly vote on hundreds of bills, trying to beat a midnight end of session deadline, September 11, 2009 ... more

Photo: Robert Durell, Special To The Chronicle

Legislature runs past deadline - more to come

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The California Legislature blew past a midnight deadline early Saturday in an effort to get as much work done as possible before ending a brutal nine-month session that was mostly an exercise in triage over the state's budget crisis.

Lawmakers deliberated until 6:30 a.m. Saturday, but still were unable to resolve the most pressing issue facing them - revamping the state's water infrastructure - and they reached only a partial solution to the prison population crisis.

Since the session began in December, the most significant action taken by the 120-member Legislature that oversees the nation's largest state and the world's eighth-largest economy was eliminating more than $16 billion from the state's budget, which included approving deep cuts in services for the poor, sick and elderly.

Through it all, the Legislature's popularity has sunk to an all-time low, according to some polls.

"This has just been an incredibly painful year for all of us," said Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Baldwin Vista (Los Angeles County), before the session ended.

The budget overshadowed everything else in Sacramento this year; even the number of bills considered by lawmakers was lower than past years, largely because there was no money to pay for new programs or services.

Much work ahead

Although the session is officially over, the Legislature's work has by no means ended. Legislative leaders are asking Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to call a special session to continue pushing for a compromise on the water issue.

Add to that a special session that has been scheduled to change education policies in an effort to win more federal money, and another likely special session to revamp the state tax code, politicking in Sacramento could continue until the Legislature officially reconvenes again in December.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, said before the Legislature went into its final stretch two weeks ago that he did not want to be part of the "culture of failure" that pervades Sacramento.

Despite an inability to come up with a plan to overhaul the state's water system and only partial solutions on cuts to state prisons, Steinberg said late Friday that the Legislature made "significant achievements," including approving one of the world's strongest renewable energy standards and restoring funds to a popular health care program for poor children, preventing 600,000 children from losing health coverage.

"There's nothing wrong with aiming high and the test in the end is getting it done, and we will. It's just going to take a little more time," Steinberg said.

"They passed a budget (in February) that was out of balance and they fell short on almost all of their policy priorities," Schnur said. "Overall, it's not the type of year that's going to boost their public approval ratings much."

With time having run out to pass bills, the Legislature still faces a possible showdown with Schwarzenegger. The governor has 30 days to sign or veto the approved bills, but has said he won't sign other legislation until lawmakers address the water issue.

"There is no reason the Legislature cannot send the governor a bipartisan solution to (one of the) biggest issues facing the state," said Rachel Cameron, a spokeswoman for Schwarzenegger.

Bass said she's simply fed up with Schwarzenegger's brinkmanship.

"You know what? I'm tired of being threatened by the governor, OK?" Bass said when asked about the potential vetoes. "We have been working tirelessly on these issues and he knows that."

It is disingenuous of the governor to use his veto "if we're not able to accomplish what he couldn't accomplish either," she added.

Bills that passed

During their session, the Legislature did take action on a number of fronts, including:

-- Cutting $1 billion from the prisons budget, which will lower the inmate population by 17,000. That's still $200 million short of what the Legislature needs to cut and 23,000 fewer prisoners than have been ordered removed from the state's prisons by a panel of federal judges. The state must submit a plan this week to comply with the court order.

-- Passing a requirement that utility companies get 33 percent of their energy from renewable sources.

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-- Approving a measure that will bring $2.3 billion in federal money to the state, with about $2 billion going to hospitals for Medi-Cal reimbursements and $320 million directed to children's health services.

-- Approving bills to bar health insurance companies from rescinding coverage for pre-existing conditions or any other reason after a specified period of time. They also mandated that companies cover maternity services, from neonatal to delivery in the hospital, and lactation consultation for breast-feeding mothers.

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